Title: Crash and Burn

Disclaimer: Angst, slash, violence, language.

Author Note: Having lost interest in this story the ending has come much sooner than I wanted. But I always finish the projects I start, even if they don't go as planned. Sorry for this poor ending.

POV: Nick

Chapter Ten: Peace of Mind

Not even bothering to think of the consequences I ran up the stairs and threw my injured body through the door. The scream from the basement dyed down as I crossed the threshold. It would only be a matter of moments before my intrusion was noticed and Nigel Crane came looking for me. I didn't care. Let him come looking for me, let him come up here. The anger that coursed through my body fed the adrenaline that made my heart beat faster. No one else believed me and that made me the only hope that Greg had in surviving. Hearing footsteps on the stairs I quickly located a hiding place and waited.

Nigel Crane opened the basement door, peeked out into the kitchen to make sure that was everything was okay, and stepped into the room. It took all the strength I had not to burst from my hiding place when I saw all the blood on his once light blue shirt. What exactly had he done to Greg? A low throbbing pain began in my side, ebbing from where I had been stabbed. I had probably wrenched the tender muscle, well; I could deal with the pain. Greg needed me right now and I wasn't going to let him down.

I watched silently from my hidden position as Nigel walked across the room and out into the hallway. He cursed as his eyes fell upon the open door and its broken frame. While he was occupied with that I slid from my hiding spot and made my way quietly to the open basement door. Nigel couldn't see me, I couldn't see him. The basement brought back a flood of memories, the confines of a coffin, the dirt piled all around me. I involuntarily shuddered. My own emotions cost me dearly. Nigel swore and I whirled around to find him coming at me in a fast pace. I didn't have the time to react before he shoved me. My feet went out from underneath me and I fell backward. The stairs didn't stop my descent; instead each step left a bruise as my body hit the wood with heavy thuds. I heard someone sobbing as I finally rolled out on the floor below.

Shifting my weight to my side I did my best to climb to my feet but every inch of my body screamed in pain. Lights flashed in my eyes and I could feel the overwhelming presence of unconsciousness on its way. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to fight I tried to get a good look around the basement. A figure sat huddled in a corner but my vision was too blurred to make out any futures. Nigel's thudding footsteps could be heard on the stairs as he slowly descended behind me. All I had wanted to do was save Greg and now it looked as thought both of us would end up dead. Life never did turn out the way I wanted it to, why should now be any different?

I blacked out before Nigel reached me.

P

Waking some time later I tried to move. My wrists were bound behind my back and my ankles tied too. There was no way I could escape now. A gag in my mouth caused me to cough when I tried to inhale deeply. At least he hadn't blindfolded me. Using the last of my strength I managed to push myself into a sitting position. Nigel seemed to be missing for the time being. This gave me an opportunity to look around. The basement had a cement floor, which had left a mark on my body, and there were boxes piled up all over the place. A table in the corner held objects of many shapes and sizes but I wasn't at the proper height to make out what most of them were. I did see a gun though. Looking to my left I saw Greg sitting against a wall and my heart broke.

His arms and legs were bound, his hand hanging down, his chin touching his chest. If he was breathing I couldn't tell. Blood had run down his arms, drying and leaving crusty trails behind. His shirt was stained; there was no telling what color it had originally been. There were droplets of blood here and there on the walls and floor. If Greg was still alive he would be in desperate need of medical attention. So much blood had been lost already. I didn't want to listen to the little voice in my head that said Greg was dead. That Greg had long since left this world. But I'd heard him scream. Hadn't I?

Hearing footsteps on the stairs I turned my head to see Nigel smiling at me. "I see you've finally found your lover," he said, his voice way too happy. It gave him an even creepier appeal.

I tried to talk but only managed to make myself short of breath. Nigel bent down in front of me. I wanted nothing more than to reach out and strangle him, maybe give him a good kick in the groin. Then tie him up before shooting him in the head. It would be overkill but I didn't care anymore. He was going to kill me anyway. I'd join Greg in another universe before anyone even found our bodies.

Nigel ran a hand along my cheek. "Forgive me, but I don't see the fascination my brother has with you. Yes, I can see that you are a stubborn fuck. Is that any reason for him to be jealous? Why couldn't you have just been his friend? Then none of this would have happened. He wouldn't be in jail and you two wouldn't be here."

My eyes never left his face. His brother? Nigel was his brother? My earlier thoughts about identical twins came racing back. Why hadn't we ever found out about a twin brother, or any siblings? I thought Grissom had looked into Nigel's past. Now I found that I wasn't sure of anything anymore.

"You're wondering who I am, aren't you," the Nigel-look-alike asked. "The name is Niles; I'm Nigel's twin brother. I was living on the east coast, up in New York when you put my brother in jail. It ruined everything, you know. Finding her favorite son in jail killed our mother. She drank herself to death. You took away everything I had. So, I decided to finish what my brother couldn't. I hope you don't mind."

He smiled an evil full of hatred as he pulled a knife from behind his back. I did my best to squirm and struggle, but there wasn't anything I could do. My body ached and my angry was gone. My scream was muffled by the gag when he drove the blade deep into my thigh. I hit the back of my head on the concrete wall. Too bad it didn't knock me out. He drew the blade out slowly, making sure that it hurt coming out as much as it did going in. That's when the cavalry arrived. Warrick appeared on the stairs, his gun drawn. The pain in my body was making me nauseous, my chest heaved with the effort to fight off the urge to vomit. I knew that if I vomited the gag would cause me to choke to death. Niles raised the knife, preparing to stab me again when Grissom appeared behind Warrick. He nudged my friend who fired his weapon. The echo off the concrete walls was deafening.

Niles fell over, blood pouring out of the back of his head. Warrick hadn't missed. Seeing the blood and brain matter seeping from the guys head only made matters worse. I closed my eyes, turning my head away. I could feel the bile rising in the back of my throat. The clatter of footsteps on the stairs gave 'way to the sound of shoes on concrete.

"Check on Greg," Grissom ordered in an urgent voice.

I felt a hand on my shoulder while another tore the gag from my mouth. Finally free I took in deep gulps of air, fighting back the nausea. Grissom busied himself with cutting away my restraints. By the time he got them undone I was sobbing, tears running down my face in a flood. I threw my arms around his shoulders in the need to be comforted. At first he was unsure of how to respond but he quickly wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay, Nicky, you're safe now," he assured. "You're safe."

Warrick's voice broke through my sobs. He was yelling for Catherine to call an ambulance. Greg was still alive, barely, but he'd hung on long enough to get the help he so needed. Grissom continued to comfort me, showing everyone that he had changed. Showing basic human emotions in front of everyone else. It wasn't until later at the hospital that I learned he too had been crying. He blamed himself and felt miserable. Only time would make things better. We all had time. Greg would be okay, so would I; it would take longer for the emotion scares to heal, though. But I knew they'd never go away, they never did.

Fin